The Melky Cabrera for Mike Cameron deal which seemed a lock only a week ago has suddenly died. The Yankees have given little explanation as to why, but the answer seems almost obvious. From the Star Ledger:

Jorge Posada today threw a baseball 60 feet 75 times, his first time throwing at that distance since July 30 surgery on his right shoulder.

The Yankees said Posada made three sets of 25 throws in Tampa, Fla., and “reported that he felt good.” Posada has insisted he will be ready for spring training and to catch Opening Day.

Posada was limited to 28 starts at catcher this year because of the injury, which included damage to his labrum and fraying in his rotator cuff.

At the center of almost every move the Yankees could make lies the questionable health of Jorge Posada’s arm. The Yankees would love nothing more than to pencil Jorge in at catcher for 100 – 110 games this season. Whether they can do that or not is not quite clear.

This creates a problem for Brian Cashman if he wants to upgrade his offense. Losing Posada behind the plate means penciling him in either at first base or full time DH. If the Yankees had any interest in Teixeira, that would mean Posada would have to DH and Nick Swisher could move to the outfield pushing Damon to center and Gardner on the bench. Matsui would have to be traded.

What if the Yankees signed Manny? The ideal situation for Manny on the Yankees would be to rotate him between left field and DH with Damon. It would give each guy more rest time and give Girardi some flexibility with left/right matchups. If Posada needs to DH, then again, Damon would have to shift to center or be traded. Chances are, Matsui again would be the one to go as he offers no outfield relief at all.

Either way, it’s difficult for the Yankees to just award centerfield to a $10 million player IF they have thoughts on upgrading their offense through Manny or Teixeira. The signing of either player leaves a lot of questions until Posada’s health is established. Given that they have backed off the Cameron deal, it would seem the Yankees are trying to figure this out right now.